Country info: Latvia (Latvija)

Rail companies: LDZ (Latvijas Dzelzceļš)

Latvian Rail Network Map 

Currency: 1 euro = app. 0.7 Latvian lats (LVL)

Train travel in Latvia: train types, tickets, fares, discounts & other useful info

National Train Service:

Train types in Latvia: Suburban, Regional & International Passenger trains  

• Suburban/Commuter – commuter service on electrified lines around Riga (Riga to Skulte, Riga to Tukums, Riga to Jelgava & Riga to Aizkraukle), special commuter tariff applies. Suburban trains in Latvia have 4 digit number starting with 6***
• Regional – national medium & long-distance service on non-electrified lines connecting Riga with major Latvian cities & towns (Riga to Krustpils, Riga to Daugavpils, Riga to Sigulada, Cesis, Valga, Riga to Rezekne, Zilupe, Riga to Madona, Gulbene, Riga to Liepaja). Regional trains in Latvia have 3 digit number starting with 6**
• International - overnight sleeper trains connecting Latvia with Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg), Belarus (Minsk, Vitebsk, Gomel) & Lithuania (Vilnius). International trains in Latvia have 2 or 3 digit number
  

At the moment there are only 4 regular international passenger trains originating (& transiting) Latvia:

• Riga to Moscow (# 001/002) - daily 'branded' train "Latvijas Ekspresis" (16:45-9:45), served by LDZ
• Riga to Saint-Petersburg (# 038/037) - daily 'branded' train "Baltija", served by LDZ (18:35-10:25, between Daugavpils and St.Petersburg joined with train # 091/092
• Vilnius to St.Petersburg via Daugavpils & Rezekne (# 091/092) - runs daily, served by LG (between Daugavpils and St.Petersburg joined with train # 037/038
• Riga to Minsk via Daugavpils & Polotsk (# 087/088) - daily (18:35-6:45), served by LDz & BCh (includes through carriages Riga-Vitebsk (3 times a week) & Riga-Gomel (every 2 days during summer or every 4 days during winter season), between Riga and Daugavpils joined with train #037/038

Types of carriages in LDz trains:

•  Common ('общий вагон') – mainly 'platskartnyi' couchette carriage where not 54 berths (as in usual 'platskartnyi') are sold, but 81 seats, thus basically turning couchette carriage into seating carriage, seat reservation compulsory. Common carriages in Latvia are used in International trains
•  Sitting ('сидячий') – various seating carriages used in Suburban & Regional trains, in Latvia it is usually aircraft type salon (1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd class)
•  'Platskartnyi' (плацкартный) – 3^rd class couchette carriage (3/6) with an open compartments & 54 berths (beds from #1-36 located in the open compartments, while beds from # 37-54 are on the side, thus opposite to compartments, odd numbers are lower berths, even – upper. Bed reservation required. 'Platskartnyi' carriages in Latvia are used in International trains
•  'Kupe' (купе) –  2^nd class sleeper carriage (2/4) with 'closed' compartments for 4 passengers, odd numbers are lower beds, even – upper. Bed reservation required. 'Kupe' carriages in Latvia are used in International trains
• 'Lux' ('люкс' or as well known as 'СВ') – 1^st sleeper carriage (1/2) with compartments for 2 passengers, both beds are lower ones, bed reservation required. 'Lux' carriages in Latvia are used in International trains

Discounts, special offers & ways to save money for passengers traveling in Latvia (LDz):

1. Passengers purchasing return tickets for LDz suburban trains (electrified lines around Riga) receive 5% discount
2. On certain off-peak departures (marked in green on LDz website) on suburban trains LDz provides 25% discount for one-way tickets
3. Passengers purchasing international tickets from Latvia to Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg) in advance receive additional discount from the standard ticket fare: 15% for tickets purchased 45-31 day in advance (for tickets Riga to St.Petersburg during summer discount is even greater - 30%), 10% for tickets purchased 30-21 day in advance, however at the same time for passengers purchasing train tickets 10 or less days in advance ticket price is higher by 5%
4. Passengers purchasing international tickets from Latvia to Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg) should also keep in mind that LDz provides 15% discount on bed reservations for upper berths in 'kupe' & 'platskartnyj' carriages, so if passenger is ok sleeping on the upper berths, it is also possible to save
5. Passengers purchasing international tickets online via LDz website don't pay extra commission for ticket counter services (which is from 0,7 & 4 LVL depending on type of ticket)

International Train Service:

Tariffs for international tickets used by Latvian railways:

•  for connections to other European countries - East-West tariff, tariff currency - Euro 
  
• for connections to former Soviet republics - MGPT 'interstate' tariff (which is actually cheaper than East-West, but more expensive than national tariff), MGPT tariff currency – Swiss Francs 

a) Regular discounts

Special group (6 & more passengers) discount available for connections to Central & Western Europe

b) Special offers (SparSchiene)

Not available

c) CityStars

'Europa-Sparpreise' LDz

Holders of Rail Plus Card eligible to receive 25% discount on tickets (East-West tariff) to/from Latvia to Central & Western European countries

How to Buy Train Tickets in Latvia:

 International tickets (from Latvia to Russia (Moscow & St.Petersburg) & Belarus) can be purchase via LDz website www.travel.ldz.lv

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